Chapter 127

THIRD PERSON’S POV The banquet hall shimmered with warm lights and glimmering gowns, filled with the scent of expensive perfume and political tension disguised as polite laughter. But amid the crowd, only two people seemed frozen in their own unspoken world—Olivia and Dominic. She stood radiant, confidence tucked behind her lashes, lips curled into a poised smile as Derek whispered something into her ear. Dominic’s gaze, however, never left her. Not even for a second. And Olivia felt it. The heat of his stare seared through the back of her neck, crawling across her skin like the phantom of his touch. She didn’t have to look to know where he stood. She felt the mate bond tug, coil, and writhe with every breath they took in the same air. Dominic’s hands clenched at his sides, knuckles pale, jaw taut. His wolf was pacing beneath his skin, itching to take over. The sight of Olivia standing there in emerald silk—his favorite color on her—with her shoulder bare and the marks he left visible